Shuten Doji
A Shuten Doji was manipulative spirit of pure taint and the teacher of maho. There were three Shuten Dojis, Fear, Desire, and Regret. Regret was the Shuten Doji responsible for the destruction of the Snake Clan. The other twos whereabouts were unknown. Abilities The Shuten Doji were spirits of seduction, which whispered dark secrets in the weak and the ambitious, promising great power if they only opened their souls to the spirit. They could teach powerful spells to those willing to pay their price. Shuten Doji had no material forms of their own and were unable to manifest in any way except in a host body. Way of the Shadowlands, p. 49 Creation When Fu Leng was still trapped within Jigoku, three men traveled into the Festering Pit with mercy in their hearts. Fu Leng destroyed them, but then dripped his blood on their skulls and said a prayer to the sins of Fear, Desire, and Regret. These skulls then became the Shuten Doji of their respective sins, and were the true sensei of maho. Bearers of Jade p. 87-89 They claimed the lives of countless samurai during the War Against Fu Leng. The three great Shuten Doji returned to Jigoku after Fu Leng was defeated, leaving their spawn to serve their purpose for the Shadowlands. Summoning Fu Leng first summoned a Shuten Doji by a blood sacrifice and a prayer to the three sins. To summon a Shuten Doji, first a prayer motivated by one of the sins must be said, and a mortal wound must be inflicted. To gain the powers of the summoned monster, a noble must also be sacrificed. If a member of the Hantei line was sacrificed, all three Shuten Doji were released. Possession The three Shuten Doji could possess a large number of people and see through the eyes of all that they occupied. Fear was spread by sight, Desire by touch and Regret by sound. Once possessed, the victim became an unwilling prisoner within his own body, helpless to resist the Shuten Doji's commands. Fear and Desire's physical forms had to be destroyed to return them to Fu Leng but every one of Regret's victims must be killed to dispel it, explaining the total destruction of the Snake Clan. The Destruction of the Snake Clan When the Chuda family settled in the lands given to them they found the area was haunted. An ancient spirit would appear at their castle the first evening of every month screaming and begging the family to hear its pleas. For generations, the Chuda ignored the spirit's pleas, until finally, the young son of the Snake Champion answered the spirit. At that point, the hauntings seemed to stop. In 401 the daimyo of the Snake died, and seven days later, his son became Champion. The son, with the help of the spirit -- the Shuten Doji of Regret-- conceived of a plot to gain immortality and power through the use of dark forces. The Shuten Doji began possessing every living thing in the Snake Clan lands, and the daimyo began his quest for power. In 402 it was only through the intervention of the Fortune Jizo that the Phoenix Clan Elemental Masters discovered the plot and the evil brewing among the family on their border. The Elemental Masters were outraged at the young daimyo's actions, and terrified at the implications. They mobilized the armies of the Phoenix and converged upon Snake lands. In what became known as the Five Nights of Shame, the Phoenix killing slew every living thing upon the Dragon Heart Plain. Once finished, not a soul of the Snake Clan remained alive. Bloodspeakers, p. 50 The Near Destruction of the Falcon Clan In 1125, an unknown maho ritual opened a rift to the spirit world releasing a Shuten Doji. Many of the Falcon were possessed and even though the ritual was reversed, the cost was great as many Falcon samurai and peasants died. With the minor clan's lands in disarray the Emperor gave the Crab authorization to absorb the people and holdings on their southern border. With the blessing of the Falcon Daimyo, the Falcon Clan became the Toritaka family. It is unknown which Shuten Doji was released. Legend of the Five Rings; Third Edition, p. 20 See also * Shuten Doji/Meta * Shuten Doji/CW Meta See also * Shuten Doji (Imperial) Category:Creatures of the Shadowlands Category:Articles with Pictures